Honda:

Eighth Generation Honda Civic SiThere have been ten generations of the Honda Civic spanning about 40 years. Generations three through nine have included the Honda Civic Si model to provide a sportier alternative for enthusiast small car buyers. The tenth generation Honda Civic Si sedan and coupe went on sale at Honda dealers on May 13, 2017.

The tenth generation Civic is a platform development tour-de-force. Honda lost its mojo with a generation of technically excellent, but unexciting products. Honda is now back with a vengeance. Their new generation stuff is outstanding. Their truck platform products are very good – Honda Pilot XSUV, Honda Ridgeline pickup and Honda Odyssey minivan. The Honda Accord is a very competitive premium mid-size car selling at high volumes.

The previous, ninth gen Civic was created during the lean years of the Great Recession. Consequently, the car left a lot to be desired. Realizing the ninth gen Civic had been a step backwards, Honda pulled out the stops on the tenth generation Civic. They created a car with distinctive styling and a comfortable and functional interior. The car is available with an impressive load of comfort, convenience and safety features.

2017 Honda Civic Si

The Honda Civic Si is not the end of the car line’s model extension. The higher performance Type-R hatchback will be launched in a month or so.

Exterior Styling The 2017 Honda Civic Si is special. It has more aggressive front and rear fascias with prominent air ducts. The grille texture has moved from chrome to gloss black for a sportier look. A rear spoiler has been added. Tires are upgraded to 235/40R18 to help more aggressive handling and enhance the car’s stance. There is a center outlet exhaust with chrome surround. All this clearly communicates the car’s more sporty nature.

Interior Styling The black interior sports black and red accents for the instrumentation. The Honda Civic Si has two driving modes – “Sport”and “Normal”. In sport mode, the cluster accents are red. In normal mode, the cluster accents are blue. New front seats have a unique frame and bolstering to better support the driver and front seat passenger when pushing the limits. The bolsters are firm, but not uncomfortable.

Powertrain and Chassis Under the skin, the engine has been upgraded. It is powered by a 205-horsepower 1.5L 4-cylinder turbo. The turbo substantially improves mid-range torque which makes the car feel more flexible. The already-excellent 6-speed manual transmission in the Civic is upgraded to provide an even more definite short stroke gear change. Front brake discs grow 1.2-inches to a 12.3 inch diameter. Rears add 0.9 inches for 11.1 inches. As you might expect, the Si gets an exclusive suspension with unique springs, stabilizer bars and shocks.

Competition and Pricing The Honda Civic Si competes with the Subaru Impreza WRX, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Ford Focus ST, Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ and Hyundai Veloster Turbo. In recent years the WRX and GTI have outsold the Si, but the new car may change that. The Si is priced at $23,900 for either the coupe or 4-door sedan. This gives it a $525 advantage over the Focus ST, $1,695 over the GTI and $2,795 over the WRX. Si is a high value proposition in its class. There are no options available on the Si.

What Honda Civic Si Lacks The Si is available only with a 6-speed manual transmission. This is admittedly an excellent transmission, but American buyers have been abandoning manuals for years. This limits the sales potential of the Si. Honda engineers and planners seemed to dismiss the need for an automatic. They cited the enthusiast’s desire for the active driving experience provided by a manual. One admitted their Continuously Variable Transmission found in the rest of the Civic line would accommodate the horsepower and torque of the Si’s engine, but the CVT would surely sap the crispness of the engine. Then there is a dual clutch automatic like Honda uses in the Acura ILX. Maybe that could be fitted. Anyway, if they want to increase Si sales at some point, an automatic would be in order.

The rest of the Civic line offers the excellent HondaSensing automatic driver assistance system. This includes adaptive cruise control, lane watch and assist. More and more drivers are expecting this system. Just because Si is directed at sporty drivers, it does not mean they do not want HondaSensing. Similarly, the Si is not available with a blind spot monitoring system. It needs one available.

Has the new 2018 Honda Odyssey leapfrogged its competition the way Chrysler’s second generation minivans did in the early ’90s? After spending several days with the Odyssey on the Big Island of Hawaii, the case can be made that the Odyssey is the best minivan out there. Up until now, the clear leader was the new-for-2016 Chrysler Pacifica. Its advanced styling, stow-‘n-go seating and available plug-in hybrid make Pacifica a persuasive choice in the minivan category. Only the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna are real competitors. Other minivans like the Nissan Quest and Kia Sedona don’t have the volume to be mainstream players. Ford and General Motors abandoned the minivan market years ago to concentrate on SUVs – a good move.

Odyssey a Cornerstone of Honda Brand Honda has a relatively narrow and focused lineup for a mainstream brand. The Honda Odyssey is one of its cornerstones. The new 2018 Honda Odyssey is the fifth generation of the minivan. The fourth gen Odyssey was with us for seven model years which is long for a Honda product. Based on Honda’s Global Light Truck platform, the new Odyssey shares major components with the Honda Pilot crossover SUV and the Honda Ridgeline pickup. From AutoPacific’s assessment, all three of Honda’s new truck products are fully competitive and compelling. The new Odyssey checks most of the boxes to make it the best minivan available today.

Still a Soccer Mom Image Lets talk about minivans a minute. Minivans are the perfect vehicle for a family. They carry kids, their friends and their stuff. They are seen as suburban taxis driven by a mom schlepping her little darlings from LaCrosse practice to Little League to band practice. When we note in focus groups of suburban mothers that they should be driving a minivan, most women strongly disagree. When compared with the active image of even the tamest crossover SUV, the SUV wins and the minivan loses. The soccer mom image of the minivan cannot be avoided.

2018 Honda Odyssey Elite

Evolutionary Design With Bold Cues The new 2018 Honda Odyssey comes pretty close to avoiding the minivan image as does the Chrysler Pacifica and the “swagger-wagon” Toyota Sienna. The styling of the new Odyssey is evolutionary but more interesting than before. Odyssey continues with the chrome “lightning bolt” window surround that has been a distinctive design cue since the previous generation. Now, however, the bodysides get a few more curves to add more personality to the design. The front end design is a swath of brightwork similar to the Pilot and Ridgeline. This look is being adopted throughout the Honda lineup and adds interest to the Honda “face”.

Magic Slide Seats Compete with Chrysler’s Stow-‘n-Go The interior is very comfortable and accommodating for any size family. Gone is any pretense of a walk-through from the front seats to the rear. There is now a very usable console including excellent cupholders and a deep console box. Honda has made interior flexibility one of its hallmarks. The very small Fit and HR-V crossover SUV have interior flexibility that can accept many different sizes of cargo. The Odyssey “Magic-Slide” second row seat counters the Chrysler Pacifica’s stow-‘n-go rear seating design.

In the Honda design the individual second row seats can be moved from side to side and fore and aft. The center position is good for children in child seats which can be fixed toward the center of the vehicle – a good location in a side impact. One of the rear seats can be positioned in the center and pushed forward so the driver and/or front seat passenger can tend to a baby in a child seat.

2018 Honda Odyssey Center Stack w/Apple CarPlay

Ergonomics Top Notch, But Nav Screen Display Needs Work Ergonomics are always a Honda forte and the 2018 Honda Odyssey does not disappoint. The instrument cluster gauges are bright and easy to read. The center screen is large and bright with navigation by Garmin. I found the information display on the screen to be hard to read because the fonts were so small. While Garmin provided the guts, Honda designed the display graphics and could have made the font size bigger, contrast better and included the city name in addition to the road name on the display. (Why is it so hard to get the city name on the display? Everyone should do it!). I ended up using Apple CarPlay maps and streaming in lieu of the Honda system.

Loaded Odysseys Want for Nothing 95% of the 2018 Honda Odysseys (EX and above) will have the full suite of Honda’s safety features standard including Honda Sensing and blind spot monitoring with cross traffic monitor. The top level Elite model includes acoustic windshield and side glass that Honda contends makes the vehicle the quietest minivan on the market. In fact, when you opt for the Odyssey Elite, there is very little missing from its equipment list.

Engine Upgraded – 10-Speed Transmission The 2018 Honda Odyssey is powered by a 280-horsepower 3.5L single overhead cam V6. The additional 32 horsepower over its predecessor gives the new Odyssey the power to pass at will. On a long stretch uphill climb on the Daniel K. Inouye Highway on the Big Island, the engine strained a bit. On anything but steep grades the power is adequate. The Elite model includes a 10-speed automatic transmission – all others have 9-speeds. The shifting is transparent in the 10-speed model.

~$30,000 – $47,000 – Is There Room for a +$50,000 Model? The base price of the 2018 Honda Odyssey is $29,990 with a $940 delivery charge. The Elite model is $46,670. Honda pays particular attention to vehicle price points as do all manufacturers. As a high volume, mainstream brand keeping prices affordable is paramount. However, some automakers are wrestling with ways to charge even more for their top of the line products because buyers want more stuff. The Odyssey Elite is $46,670 – $3,230 below $50,000. Could there be a place for a $50,000 entry in the very price-conscious minivan market? While Honda competitors are moving mid-size SUVs into the low $50,000 range could there be a place for an even higher spec Odyssey? It would be interesting to do the analysis.

The 2017 Honda CR-V goes on sale in December 2016. It’s predecessor, the fourth-generation 2016 Honda CR-V, is on track to sell about 380,000 crossover SUVs in 2016. It is the highest volume crossover SUV and one of the top selling vehicles in the market. In AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Award Research the CR-V achieved a score of 690. This is a fourth place showing in the Mid-Size Crossover SUV segment. Nissan Rogue (712), Toyota RAV4 and Subaru Forester place ahead of the 2016 CR-V. In AutoPacific’s 2016 Ideal Vehicle Award Research the CR-V was tied with Rogue in third place (1134 points). The class leading Subaru Forester (1175) and Mazda CX-5 scored higher.

Each year, AutoPacific surveys new car and light truck buyers to determine what changes they want in their vehicle. It is particularly interesting to compare the changes that owners want to their vehicle when it is just about to be replaced by the next generation. Also, AutoPacific’s research can be measuring stick on how well a manufacturer’s product planners, engineers and designers understand their customers. Using AutoPacific’s research to determine what changes people wanted in their CR-V, let’s see how well Honda did with their update.

Technology – Still a Challenge as With Most New Generation Vehicles: As with many vehicles these days, technology is a love it/hate it affair. About 25% of 2016 Honda CR-V owners want more advanced technology than now. About 30% want the technology they have to be easier to use. The 2016 CR-V has the HondaSensing suite of driver assistance technologies available. The 2017 version expands on that adding a blind spot information system to the affordable EX model. Technology is still an area that requires a great deal of work, and the 2017 Honda CR-V improves on its predecessor. About 25% of CR-V’s competitors want more advanced technology as well. Among competitors, about 34% of 2016 Ford Escape owners want easier to use technology.

Driver’s Seat Visibility – Excellent View: Visibility is a key component in the acceptance of new crossover SUVs. About 29% of 2016 Honda CR-V owners want better driver’s seat visibility compared with 27% for competition. The previous CR-V was very competitive, but AutoPacific concludes the fourth generation CR-V is better. The driver’s seating position is excellent. The hood has been redesigned with more character that gives the driver more reference points in front. Honda has always been generous with glass and it appears the windows are larger. The 2017 CR-V should see better results next year.

Power and Fuel Economy – Going Turbo: About 20% of 2016 Honda CR-V owners want more power and acceleration and about 10% would sacrifice power and acceleration for better fuel economy. About 29% of 2016 Nissan Rogue owners want more power and acceleration. The 2017 Honda CR-V adds a 190-horsepower turbocharged 1.5L 4-cylinder in all but the base LX model. The turbo 4 gets both better fuel economy and acceleration and feels sprightlier than its predecessor. 2017 results should be even better than 2016.

Ride and Handling – Improved Dynamics: About 20% of 2016 Honda CR-V owners want easier handing and a softer ride. This compares to just 14% of the owners of its primary competitors wanting easier handling and softer ride. Honda has improved the ride and handling giving the 2017 CR-V a solid ride with crisp sporty handling. It is not a pillow-soft ride by any means, but gives the confidence that the vehicle will do what the driver demands.

Passenger Roominess – More Rear Seat Room: About 20% of 2016 Honda CR-V owners want more passenger room. This compares with about 24% of competition (about 32% of Ford Escape owners want more passenger room). The 2017 Honda CR-V has 2.1-inches more rear seat legroom while increasing the overall length of the vehicle by 1.2 inches. The rear seat seems much more spacious and the 2017 Honda CR-V should fare even better in AutoPacific’s 2017 research.

Exterior Styling – More Distinctive – Upscale: Looking at the all new CR-V, the at-a-glance impression is “more of the same”. CR-V, however, adopts Honda’s more aggressive and distinctive front end design with a heavy dollop of chrome. The taillights are a blatant evolution of the 2016 CR-V. About 16% of 2016 CR-V owners want more distinctive styling. 23% of owners of the 2016 Ford Escape, for instance, want more distinctive styling. It is probably safe to say that the 2017 changes to the CR-V will move the needle towards the more distinctive area.

Cargo Area – Even Better: 2016 Honda CR-V owners are less likely to want more cargo space than the competition – 14% compared to 28%. The 2017 Honda CR-V adds almost 10-inches to the length of its cargo space. This makes the all-new CR-V even better than before and substantially better than each of its main competitors.

Overall: The 2017 Honda CR-V has incrementally improved in almost every area. The styling is more distinctive. The powertrain more responsive. The interior is larger within a vehicle that is no bigger than before. Combined with Honda’s outstanding ergonomics, the CR-V, as a product, should be able to sell at about capacity especially at the aggressive pricing Honda has adopted.

Competition does not stand still. The Ford Escape has a substantial upgrade for 2017. The Nissan Rogue is all new for 2017. The 2017 research will show which vehicle’s product development team understood its customers the best and executed the product for them.

Honda has imposed an embargo for the new Honda CR-V on technical specifications, driving impressions and pricing, so we can only describe the vehicle and its competitive position in generalities. The embargo lifts on November 30, 2016.

New Honda CR-V – all new for 2017 with distinctive front end styling.

Honda Assures Continued Success in Entry XSUV Market The all new Honda CR-V is an impressive compact crossover SUV. A pillar of Honda’s product lineup that includes Accord, Civic and Odyssey, the CR-V sells almost 400,000 units per year. Strong competitors include the Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape. The Nissan Rogue is starting to make waves as well. The entry crossover SUV category has become the best selling class of vehicle in the United States. Entry crossover SUV sales are higher than mid-size cars. The popularity of the segment, and how good this new CR-V is, has led Honda to add more assembly capacity at its Indiana assembly plant in 2017.

Sport utility vehicles have evolved from the hardcore 4x4s of the 1970s to the very easy-t0-live with crossover SUVs of today. Responding to customer demand for better ride, better fuel economy, the latest electronic and infotainment features, the new crossovers have taken the market by storm. They are now the vehicles of choice for most female buyers.

In the development of the new Honda CR-V, Honda benchmarked the European BMW X3 to give this mainstream crossover a luxury feel. They clearly have higher aspirations for the vehicle. Also, given the sales volume of the CR-V, Honda added standard features in lower trim levels. Cost efficiencies are substantial when a product approaches the 400,000 unit volume level.

New Honda CR-V – all new for 2017 with more muscular styling

More Aggressive Than Past Hondas Sounding like a Big Three manufacturer of yore, the new Honda CR-V is longer, wider and higher than before. It has a new turbocharged 4-cylinder engine mated to a continuously variable transmission on all but its base LX trim level. The looks of the new Honda CR-V are an upward evolution of its predecessor. Styling is more aggressive with more character in the hood and body panels. The grille is much more aggressive than previously and follows the trend adopted by the new Honda Pilot XSUV and Ridgeline pickup. The wheel openings are more muscular to accommodate larger tires and wheels.

More Upscale than Typical for This Class Comparing the new Honda CR-V with the RAV4 and Escape, the CR-V comes across as a product in a class above. The finish is outstanding, the interior has been substantially upgraded with soft touch materials in critical areas. As usual, the new Honda CR-V is an ergonomic tour de force. Visibility from the driver’s seat is excellent. Reach to the controls is intuitive. The large electronic instrument cluster is brilliantly lit and provides necessary information. Responding to customer complaints, the new Honda CR-V adds back a volume control knob for the audio system replacing the slider used previously. The rear seat is larger than in its predecessor and Honda describes the interior space in the new Honda CR-V as being best in class.

High Volume EX Trim Loaded with Features The highest volume trim level will be the EX one step above the base LX. The level of equipment on this model is impressive. Honda includes Honda Sensing, blind spot warning and cross traffic warning as part of the EX trim level. Honda Sensing includes adaptive cruise control with low speed follow, collision mitigation braking system, road departure mitigation, and lane keeping assist. The Honda-exclusive Lane Watch video camera system has been abandoned for the new Honda CR-V. Blind spot information replaces Lane Watch because owners want blind spot information on both sides of the car and the right-side-only Lane Watch system couldn’t be adapted to show the left side as well.

Best Selling Honda? Given the excellence of the latest generation CR-V, and the additional production capacity being added, it would not be surprising if the CR-V becomes Honda’s top-selling vehicle.

As Honda has done with the CR-V, the 2016 Honda Accord gets subtle, but important updates leading up to its August 19 debut for the sedan and August 26 launch of the coupe. Adding the Honda Sensing suite of electronic features brings the Accord equal or superior to competition in terms of electronic driver’s aids. Costing a mere $1,000 Honda Sensing is available on every model of the Accord. Honda Sensing includes adaptive cruise control, Lane Keeping Assist, Road Departure Mitigation, Collision Mitigation Braking – all features that can one day be part of an autonomous car.

On the outside the Accord has new styling for its front and rear six inches. The grille, front fascia and headlamps are new as are the taillamps. This improves Accord’s slightly clumsy front and rear styling for the present car. Engines are unchanged with a 3.5L V6 and 2.4L I4, but the 4-cylinder highway fuel economy has improved by 1-mpg to 37mpg. City and combined numbers are unchanged. This improvement results from aerodynamics and friction improvements. Overall, Honda has gone through the Accord finessing each system: high performance shocks, better control for the electric power steering system, aluminum hood on the sedan, larger front disc brakes on the Sport and Touring models.

The interior has been upgraded with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto available in the Display Audio system. The instrument panel has been upgraded with new gauges and accents. The interior trim has upgraded materials and fabrics. The center console has been redesigned to be more functional with today’s smartphones.

Because the 2016 Honda Accord is a high volume sedan and coupe, it can maintain pricing discipline. The base LX model price remains the same at $22,925. The top of the line Touring model is $35,400 including destination and with all boxes checked.

Just for fun, comparing the Accord Sedan to the Lexus GS350 yields a surprise. The two cars are almost identical in size with the Lexus having a longer wheelbase for its rear wheel drive set-up. Interior wise, the Accord is actually larger than the Lexus in several important dimensions. Accord’s 3.5L V6 gets 28 fewer horsepower than the Lexus’ 3.5L V6, but it still feels good. So saving about $23,000 getting a fully loaded Accord Touring versus a Lexus GS might make good sense.

The Honda Pilot, good as it might be, has been a blight on the road. Its eyeball searing gawky looks were only short of the not-lamented Pontiac Aztec. These are harsh comments, but a vehicle that makes you scream when you first see at an auto show is certainly a show stopper and not in a good way. Honda defends the previous Pilot as having traditional sport utility vehicle styling. That may be so, but it was very third world and inappropriate for the American market. Lasting for an extremely long cycle for Honda – seven years – the Pilot was a very good vehicle under the skin and its interior was commodious to say the least. But, now it’s thankfully dead and to be replaced by the third generation 2016 Honda Pilot on June 18, 2015.

The 2014 Honda CR-V is the highest scoring Mid-Size Crossover SUV in AutoPacific’s 2014 Ideal Vehicle Award research. The CR-V designers, planners and engineers clearly understood their target buyer and developed a vehicle that meets their requirements. The 2014 Honda CR-V beat out an impressive group of mid-size crossovers including the Subaru Forester, Jeep Cherokee, Mazda CX-5, Nissan Rogue, and the Toyota RAV4.

2014 Honda CR-V owners are satisfied with their vehicle and do not want a great deal of change. Of the fifteen categories in the Ideal Vehicle questionnaire, the 2014 CR-V led in four categories and was within three percentage points of three other categories.

The top five highest ratings by CR-V owners are: same exterior size, same wheels, same tires, same ease of getting in and out of the vehicle, and the same exterior styling,

No vehicle is perfect and CR-V owners did want several things changed. Owners would like more power and acceleration, better driver seat visibility, and a more relaxed drivers seat. CR-V owners would also like a new information and entertainment system. Seventeen percent would like a more advanced system and eighteen percent would like a simpler system.

2014 Honda Odyssey owners are satisfied with their vehicle and do not want much change. Of the fifteen categories in the Ideal Vehicle survey, the 2014 Honda Odyssey led in one category and was within three percentage points of seven more.

The top five highest ratings by 2014 Honda Odyssey owners are: same wheels, same exterior size, same tires, same ride/handling, and same interior lighting.

There were several things Odyssey owners would like changed. Owners would like more interior storage, more power and acceleration, more safety features, and better driver visibility. Owners would also like a new information and entertainment system. While 54% of Odyssey owners want the same info/entertainment system. The remainder were pretty evenly divided on whether they wanted a more sophisticated system or a simpler one – twenty-two percent would like a more advanced system while twenty-four percent would like a simpler system.

In achieving this level of satisfaction, the 2014 Honda Odyssey wins in eleven categories and ties in eighteen. The Odyssey is also within one tenth of a rating point in another six satisfaction categories. The Odyssey is at the top in seventy percent of the satisfaction ratings.

The top ten highest ratings by Odyssey owners are: the brand and vehicle reputation, safety ratings and features, the perception of reliability and dependability, seating capacity, overall quality and braking, the ease of loading and unloading cargo, and feeling safe while driving.

The Odyssey has been the top rated Minivan in three of the past five years… and don’t forget – you can get it with an integral vacuum cleaner.

Early in its life, Acura was a brilliant attempt to establish an upscale Japanese brand that was a smart buying decision. The Acura Legend and Acura Integra carried the brand at first with the Legend being a very rational buying desicion vs. a Mercedes 300 or BMW 525.

Unfortunately, Acura lost its way when it went further upscale and changed from using names for its vehicles to alphanumeric nomenclature. This was a move that Honda insiders once admitted cost $1.5 billion in lost sales revenue and damaged the Acura image immeasurably. At the same time the third generation of the Acura range topper was launched replacing the well-liked Legend. This was the RL. It had boring style, was heavy, slow and expensive. It had completely abandoned the Legend’s Unique Selling Proposition. Wags called it the “Ruined Legend”.

The RL never caught on except with buyers heavily engaged in technology. Adding the Super Handling All Wheel Drive System as an optional drive package helped handling, but was very heavy. The engine did not have the oomph to handle all the weight. RL sales slumped into the range of hundreds per month – an unsustainable level.

Now we come to the introduction of the Acura RLX Sport Hybrid in Spring, 2014. The front wheel drive RLX was launched in early 2013 as a 2014 model. The RLX is arguably better styled than the RL it replaces. However, it is still a very heavy car (3,933 lbs base) and with its standard 310-horsepower 3.5L V6 it is a lot of weight to push around. The solution? Add a Sport Hybrid model as the new top-of-the-line RLX – the Sport Hybrid system adds 350-lbs to the weight of the car, but the power of the hybrid powertrain more than offsets the weight gain..

With one of the most technologically advanced powertrains in the industry, the RLX hybrid puts out a combined 377 horsepower. Impressive. We won’t go into the details of the technology much beyond the fact that it has Honda’s Earth Dreams Three Motor Hybrid System combining the RLX’ 310-horsepower 3.5L V6 with one 47-horsepower and two 36-horsepower rear electric motors. The resulting 377-horsepower combined with the 7-speed Dual Clutch Transmission makes the car into a dancer.

Think of Disney’s Fantasia. The front drive RLX can be the dancing hippos in tutus. The Sport Hybrid with SH-AWD plus DCT in sport mode becomes a completely different car. A star. The transmission downshifts in the blink of an eye anticipating what you want it to do. Fantastic!

The front wheel drive base car gets 20/31/24 (City/Highway/Combined) mpg with a city range of 370 miles and highway range of 575 miles from its 18.5 gallon fuel tank. The hybrid is rated at 28/32/30 mpg giving city range of 425 mile and highway range of 475 miles from its 15.1 gallon tank. While the hybrid does get much better city fuel economy, its smaller fuel tank hurts its maximum range. Clearly the hybrid in the RLX is about technology and performance, not maximum range.

While Acura has not released pricing the the hybrid, the 2014 RLX with the top of the line Advance Package is priced at $60,450, $12,000 higher than the base RLX. Given this price range it’s reasonable to expect a price of between $65,000 and $70,000 for the RLX Sport Hybrid. Given the dynamic improvement the hybrid system gives the car, this may be worth every penny.